Instead of throwing out tin cans I punch some holes in the bottom and use them as plant containers for herbs. I have them sitting in a sunny spot in the kitchen. [Painted bright colours, they are also good for a kid’s garden. – Oily Rag Ed’]
Bev has responded to last week’s column about fire ash as a garden fertiliser. “There are a couple of kitchen waste products that are also good fertilisers for the garden. Egg shells are high in calcium so do the same job as lime. I store the shells for a week then bake them for about […]
We have a number of raised garden beds. This is an ideal base to add a mini green house. We built one that was only about 500mm high with a sloping lid which can be propped up using some old casement stays we had in the shed (my hubby never throws anything out!). It’s perfect […]
Anita says she loves winter fires. “We use our freestanding wood fire to slow-cook winter meals in our cast iron pot. The bonus is we save on electricity, and we have ash from the stove to put on the garden”. Using wood ash is a very good oily rag trick. Spreading ash onto plants gives […]
Jesse asks, “Does anyone have any ‘life-saver’ family dinner ideas they can share – suggestions for ultra-quick and thrifty meals that you can fall back on when you are running late and devoid of ideas?”
Bill from Papamoa asks, “Does anyone have an answer to keeping Birds from scattering bark from my garden?”
I use wood chips to keep slugs and snails off the garden – spread it liberally around the paths and the slugs and snails won’t go over the chips into the garden.
For a fire starter, I take a few leaves, fold them over and wrap them around to form a tights bundle. It’s excellent kindling. [Another reader uses the dried stalks from the flax flower as kindling. It’s light like balsa wood and very easy to burn. – Oily Rag Ed’]
To remove permanent ink from painted surfaces, use hairspray. We had graffiti on the painted top of our letterbox and I removed it with hairspray.
I often use Lemonade/Coke bottles as hot-water bottles. They are made to stay sealed under high pressure so are safe as long as the lid is screwed on tightly and it is easy to regulate the heat you put into them. My children often had 2 or 3 in their beds at a time and […]